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In Season: 3 beauties that grow great from seed

Published 9:04 p.m. PT May 7, 2015

Mexican sunflower prefers poor soil and minimal water. Its fiery-red flowers smother the plant July through August.(Photo: Special to the Statesman Journal)

Well, here we are again: another May. I've been at this for 35 years, and spring never ceases to excite me to the point of near explosive tendencies. I just can't help myself; I want to buy every flowering plant I see, and what I'm not buying, I'm raising from seed.

The attraction of growing annuals and perennials from seed is that you are not at the mercy of the current fashion trend. Many of the plants I am growing are the same ones I've grown for the past 30 years. I still can't find them routinely in the trade, and they are really easy to grow.

First on my list are the Amaranths; Amaranthus caudatus, 'Love Lies Bleeding,' or prince's feather, Amaranthus hypochrondriacus, both are native to the American tropics, and most parts of the plants are edible. I love the statuesque monumentality of 'Love Lies Bleeding,' easily obtaining 4 feet in height and nearly as wide, festooned with long, cylindrical red inflorescences. The plant is simply stunning and relatively easy to grow.

Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia) is a 4-foot tall member of the aster family like the sunflowers we see more often in the home garden. Mexican sunflower prefers poor soil and minimal water yet puts on an incredible show of fiery red flowers that smother the plant from July through August. It is also a pollinator magnet. Like most sunflowers, it germinates readily.

I have always loved celosia and simply accepted the fact that they possess some of the gaudiest colors ever. Then I stumbled upon the celosia 'Flamingo Feather.' This member of the Amaranth family can grow 3 feet tall and half as wide. It has purple-tinged green foliage and an abundance of pink terminal spikes that are simply beautiful. This is another plant that grows easily from seed.

Al Shay is a consulting horticulturist and instructor at OSU. Contact baxtersnoo@yahoo.com.